In the second leg of the A-League playoff quarterfinals, a.k.a the Pacific
Division Championship series, the host Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver
86ers played an even game, settling for a scoreless draw. Seattle won the
CrapShootout (TM A-League). Under the contrived A-League playoff rules,
Seattle's CrapShootout win counts equal to Vancouver's 3-0 win from the
first leg of the series, so a 30-minute "mini-game" followed, contested
by tired players. A report on that game follows.

First Half

In the 2nd minute, Seattle's Mike Gailey posted up with the ball and
dropped it for Kei Kinoshita, whose blasted a shot to the upper right corner.
Paul Shepherd did well to push the ball over the bar for a save.

For Vancouver, Craig Dalrymple on the right rolled in what he intended
to be a cross, but Dusty Hudock had to save it from finding the far post.
Jeff Skinner took a shot from a steep angle on the left, easily saved by
Hudock at the near post.

Peter Hattrup won a loose ball 35 yards from Vancouver's goal and passed
to Henry Gutierrez, whose shot bent the wrong way, just missing the top
right corner.

Midway in the half, Domenic Mobilio's shot from 20 yards on the left
curled just left of the near post. For the rest of the half, neither team
managed to earn any good shots.

Second Half

The offensive drought continued for the first 30 minutes of the second
half. The only notable event was when Mobilio and Steve MacDonald cracked
heads trying to finish a free kick in the air. MacDonald got the worst
of it, and was soon replaced for the night by Ian Clarke.

For Vancouver, Dalrymple tried a 25-yard low shot from the right, easily
saved by Hudock at the near post.

For Seattle, Gailey headed David Hoggan's free kick on goal, but right
into Shepherd's bread basket.

Dalrymple's corner kick was punched away by Hudock, and Paul Dailly
fired the clearance right back in on goal, forcing a save by Hudock.

Near the end of regulation time, Gailey got his head on a Seattle corner
kick, but couldn't get enough of the ball to send it on goal.

Ian Clarke got a chance to head a cross, but sent it wide right. Oliver
Heald's last-minute shot was just over the bar.

0-0 after 90 minutes, and anywhere else in the world the series would
have gone to Vancouver with a win and a draw. But this being a US league,
a 15-minute sudden death overtime was next on the agenda.

Overtime

Seattle had the best of the play in the overtime period, but couldn't
find the net. Erik Storkson got a chance with Kieran Barton's long cross,
but chested it wide right of the far post.

Mobilio got a head on a long Vancouver free kick, but shot wide right.

After Seattle strung together a series of passes up the field, Chance
Fry was open for a cross at the 18, but shot well over the goal.

Dailly bent a Vancouver corner kick around the far post, missing it
by a yard, but nobody was there to head it in.

Kinoshita fed Storkson on the left on a counter attack, but Storkson
missed badly with his left-footed shot.

Heald's 20-yard shot was punched straight up in the air by Hudock, and
when it came down he had company from Vancouver and had to punch it toward
the corner.

In the final minute Gutierrez rolled a Seattle corner kick outside the
penalty area for Esmundo Rodriguez, but he sent the shot to the sky instead
of the goal.